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Martin Luther King, Jr./Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are in a rowboat in the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool. Moby points to the Memorial. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yep, that's where he gave his biggest speech. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, can you do a Martin Luther King movie? Thanks, Sarah. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the most important leader of the America’s Civil Rights Movement. An image shows Martin Luther King, Jr. MOBY: Beep. TIM: That was the popular campaign to extend equal rights to all people, regardless of skin color, income, or gender. It's hard to believe, but that was kind of a controversial idea in the first half of the 20th century. An image shows a police officer preventing an African American woman from voting. TIM: In many parts of the country, African Americans were barred from participating in ordinary life. They couldn't eat at the same lunch table, go to the same schools, or even use the same bathrooms as white people. An image shows a white man aggressively gesturing to a black man who is sitting next to him at a lunch counter. Then separate bathrooms for white and black people are shown. MOBY: Beep. TIM: This practice of separating blacks and whites was called segregation. In the South, segregation was enforced through Jim Crow laws. They made it illegal for African Americans to mix with whites. Violating these laws would expose you to violence and jail time. An image shows a frustrated-looking black man appearing before a white judge in court. TIM: In the North, segregation was accomplished through unspoken rules. Like, if you were selling your home in a white neighborhood, you would be expected to sell only to other white people. An animation shows a white man watering his front yard, next to a "For Sale" sign. As he sees an African American family approach, he turns the sign around. TIM: These informal codes ensured that African Americans remained second-class citizens. Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in the midst of all that inequality. He was born in 1929 to a middle class family in Atlanta, Georgia. An image shows a young King in front of his home. TIM: Both his grandfather and his father were pastors at a local church. An image shows King with his father who is preaching from a pulpit. TIM: King attended religious colleges in Philadelphia and Boston. A dotted line on a U.S. map traces the route from Atlanta, Georgia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Boston, Massachusetts. TIM: He noticed black and white people mixing more freely than he'd ever seen before. An image shows King sitting on a bus. White and black people sit next to each other on the bus. TIM: Though these cities had their share of racial tension, they were a far cry from the way things were down South. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Dr. King moved to Montgomery, Alabama, with his wife Coretta, in 1953. A dotted line on a U.S. map traces the route from Boston, Massachusetts to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Montgomery, Alabama. A pop-up image shows Coretta Scott King. TIM: He became a pastor and a community leader. An image shows King preaching. TIM: Around that time, a local woman named Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her bus seat to a white man. King helped organize a boycott of the Montgomery Bus System. An image shows Rosa Parks sitting on a bus while a man stands near her. TIM: Most black citizens of Montgomery refused to ride the buses for over a year. Many were violently attacked, just for walking instead of taking a bus. An image shows black people walking and an empty bus in the street. TIM: Dr. King's house was bombed, and along with dozens of other protesters, he was thrown in jail. An image shows Dr. King standing outside his destroyed house. TIM: But these injustices drew national attention to the issue. An image shows white people riding a bus and reading newspaper articles about the bombing of Dr. King's home. TIM: And in 1956, a Supreme Court decision banned segregated buses. An image shows the Supreme Court building. TIM: After that victory, King helped organize a group of churches dedicated to nonviolent protests for civil rights. MOBY: Beep. TIM: He was inspired by the life of Mahatma Gandhi, whose nonviolent leadership helped free India from British rule. An image shows Mahatma Gandhi. TIM: Over the next decade, King led protests and marches all over the country. The biggest was the March on Washington in 1963. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the nation's capital to support Civil Rights. An image shows the March on Washington and crowds of people around the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool. TIM: It was there that Dr. King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. A recording of King's speech plays. DR. KING: One day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today! Images show Dr. King giving this speech. MOBY: Beep. Moby wipes a tear from his eyes. TIM: Yeah, kinda gives you goose bumps, doesn't it? King's gift for public speaking was a huge help to his cause. Images show King speaking passionately. TIM: His protests and marches throughout Alabama turned the world's attention to the issues of civil rights. An image shows Dr. King and his wife Coretta with others marching hand in hand with a large crowd of peaceful protestors. TIM: The rest of the country watched in shock as local police turned firehoses and attack dogs on peaceful protests. A TV screen shows police beating protestors with batons and setting attack dogs on black protestors. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I guess you could say that people back then felt threatened by change. King was arrested numerous times during these marches, but it paid off: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 overturned segregation laws around the country. An image shows King in jail. TIM: In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. An image shows the Nobel Peace Prize medal. TIM: As the recognized leader of the civil rights movement, he went on to fight against poverty and the Vietnam War. Then, in 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. An image shows Martin Luther King lying on the ground dead after getting shot on a balcony. People on the balcony point in the direction the shot was fired. TIM: His killer, James Earl Ray, was captured months later. An image shows James Earl Ray's mug shot. TIM: Even though he was only 39 when he died, King changed the face of this country. Without his influence, who knows how long it would have been before equal rights were granted to everyone? An image shows Martin Luther King. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, you're right. We still struggle with racial equality to this day, but thanks to Dr. King, it's a conversation that everyone's involved in, regardless of the color of their skin. MOBY: Beep. Tim and Moby continue to drift past the Lincoln Memorial. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts